Baines, S., Mavromatos, N. E., Mitsou, V. A., Pinfold, J. L., & Santra, A. (2018). Monopole production via photon fusion and Drell-Yan processes: MadGraph implementation and perturbativity via velocity-dependent coupling and magnetic moment as novel features. Eur. Phys. J. C, 78(11), 966–36pp.
Abstract: In this work we consider point-like monopole production via photon-fusion and Drell-Yan processes in the framework of an effective U(1) gauge field theory obtained from conventional models describing the interaction of magnetically-charged fields with ordinary photons, upon electric-magnetic dualisation. We present arguments based on such dualities which support the conjecture of an effective monopole-velocity-dependent magnetic charge. For the cases of 1 monopoles, we also include a magnetic-moment which is treated as a new phenomenological parameter and, together with the velocity-dependent coupling, allows for a perturbative treatment of the cross-section calculation. We discuss unitarity issues within these effective field theories, in particular we point out that in the spin-1 monopole case only the may restore unitarity. However from an effective-field-theory point of view, this lack of unitarity should not be viewed as an impediment for the phenomenological studies and experimental searches of generic spin-1 monopoles, given that the potential appearance of new degrees of freedom in the ultraviolet completion of such models might restore it. The second part of the paper deals with an appropriate implementation of photon-fusion and Drell-Yan processes based on the above theoretical scenarios into MadGraph UFO models, aimed to serve as a useful tool in interpretations of monopole searches at colliders such as LHC, especially for photon fusion, given that it has not been considered by experimental collaborations so far. Moreover, the experimental implications of such perturbatively reliable monopole searches have been laid out.
|
Balaudo, A., Calore, F., De Romeri, V., & Donato, F. (2024). NAJADS: a self-contained framework for the direct determination of astrophysical J-factors. J. Cosmol. Astropart. Phys., 02(2), 001–33pp.
Abstract: Cosmological simulations play a pivotal role in understanding the properties of the dark matter (DM) distribution in both galactic and galaxy -cluster environments. The characterization of DM structures is crucial for informing indirect DM searches, aiming at the detection of the annihilation (or decay) products of DM particles. A fundamental quantity in these analyses is the astrophysical J -factor. In the DM phenomenology community, J -factors are typically computed through the semi -analytical modelling of the DM mass distribution, which is affected by large uncertainties. With the scope of addressing and possibly reducing these uncertainties, we present NAJADS, a self-contained framework to derive the DM J -factor directly from the raw simulations data. We show how this framework can be used to compute all -sky maps of the J -factor, automatically accounting for the complex 3D structure of the simulated halos and for the boosting of the signal due to the density fluctuations along the line of sight. After validating our code, we present a proof -of -concept application of NAJADS to a realistic halo from the IllustrisTNG suite, and exploit it to make a thorough comparison between our numerical approach and traditional semi -analytical methods. JCAP02(2024)001
|
Balazs, C. et al, Mamuzic, J., & Ruiz de Austri, R. (2021). A comparison of optimisation algorithms for high-dimensional particle and astrophysics applications. J. High Energy Phys., 05(5), 108–46pp.
Abstract: Optimisation problems are ubiquitous in particle and astrophysics, and involve locating the optimum of a complicated function of many parameters that may be computationally expensive to evaluate. We describe a number of global optimisation algorithms that are not yet widely used in particle astrophysics, benchmark them against random sampling and existing techniques, and perform a detailed comparison of their performance on a range of test functions. These include four analytic test functions of varying dimensionality, and a realistic example derived from a recent global fit of weak-scale supersymmetry. Although the best algorithm to use depends on the function being investigated, we are able to present general conclusions about the relative merits of random sampling, Differential Evolution, Particle Swarm Optimisation, the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy, Bayesian Optimisation, Grey Wolf Optimisation, and the PyGMO Artificial Bee Colony, Gaussian Particle Filter and Adaptive Memory Programming for Global Optimisation algorithms.
|
Balbinot, R., & Fabbri, A. (2024). The Unruh Vacuum and the “In-Vacuum” in Reissner-Nordström Spacetime. Universe, 10(1), 18–14pp.
Abstract: The Unruh vacuum is widely used as a quantum state to describe black hole evaporation since, near the horizon, it reproduces the physical state of a quantum field, the so-called “in-vacuum”, in the case where a black hole is formed by gravitational collapse. We examine the relation between these two quantum states in the background spacetime of a Reissner-Nordstrom black hole (both extremal and not), highlighting the similarities and striking differences.
|
Balbinot, R., & Fabbri, A. (2023). Quantum energy momentum tensor and equal time correlations in a Reissner-Nordström black hole. Phys. Rev. D, 108, 045004–9pp.
Abstract: We consider a Reissner-Nordström black hole formed by the collapse of a charged null shell. The renormalized expectation values of the energy-momentum tensor operator for a massless scalar field propagating in the two-dimensional section of this spacetime are given. We then analyze the across-the-horizon correlations of the related energy density operator for free-falling observers to reveal the correlations between the Hawking particles and their interior partners.
|
Balbinot, R., & Fabbri, A. (2023). The Hawking Effect in the Particles-Partners Correlations. Physics, 5(4), 968–982.
Abstract: We analyze the correlations functions across the horizon in Hawking black hole radiation to reveal the correlations between Hawking particles and their partners. The effects of the underlying space-time on this are shown in various examples ranging from acoustic black holes to regular black holes.
|
Balbinot, R., & Fabbri, A. (2022). Quantum correlations across the horizon in acoustic and gravitational black holes. Phys. Rev. D, 105(4), 045010–20pp.
Abstract: We investigate, within the framework of quantum field theory in curved space, the correlations across the horizon of a black hole in order to highlight the particle-partner pair creation mechanism at the origin of Hawking radiation. The analysis concerns both acoustic black holes, formed by Bose-Einstein condensates, and gravitational black holes. More precisely, we have considered a typical acoustic black hole metric with two asymptotic homogeneous regions and the Schwarzschild metric as describing a gravitational black hole. By considering equal-time correlation functions, we find a striking disagreement between the two cases: the expected characteristic peak centered along the trajectories of the Hawking particles and their partners seems to appear only for the acoustic black hole and not for the gravitational Schwarzschild one. The reason for that is the existence of a quantum atmosphere displaced from the horizon as the locus of origin of Hawking radiation together, and this is the crucial aspect, with the presence of a central singularity in the gravitational case swallowing everything is trapped inside the horizon. Correlations, however, are not absent in the gravitational case; to see them, one simply has to consider correlation functions at unequal times, which indeed display the expected peak.
|
Balbinot, R., Fabbri, A., Dudley, R. A., & Anderson, P. R. (2019). Particle production in the interiors of acoustic black holes. Phys. Rev. D, 100(10), 105021–13pp.
Abstract: Phonon creation inside the horizons of acoustic black holes is investigated using two simple toy models. It is shown that, unlike what occurs in the exterior regions, the spectrum is not thermal. This nonthermality is due to the anomalous scattering that occurs in the interior regions.
|
Balibrea-Correa, J., Lerendegui-Marco, J., Babiano-Suarez, V., Caballero, L., Calvo, D., Ladarescu, I., et al. (2021). Machine Learning aided 3D-position reconstruction in large LaCl3 crystals. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 1001, 165249–17pp.
Abstract: We investigate five different models to reconstruct the 3D gamma-ray hit coordinates in five large LaCl3(Ce) monolithic crystals optically coupled to pixelated silicon photomultipliers. These scintillators have a base surface of 50 x 50 mm(2) and five different thicknesses, from 10 mm to 30 mm. Four of these models are analytical prescriptions and one is based on a Convolutional Neural Network. Average resolutions close to 1-2 mm fwhm are obtained in the transverse crystal plane for crystal thicknesses between 10 mm and 20 mm using analytical models. For thicker crystals average resolutions of about 3-5 mm fwhm are obtained. Depth of interaction resolutions between 1 mm and 4 mm are achieved depending on the distance of the interaction point to the photosensor surface. We propose a Machine Learning algorithm to correct for linearity distortions and pin-cushion effects. The latter allows one to keep a large field of view of about 70%-80% of the crystal surface, regardless of crystal thickness. This work is aimed at optimizing the performance of the so-called Total Energy Detector with Compton imaging capability (i-TED) for time-of-flight neutron capture cross-section measurements.
|
Balibrea-Correa, J., Lerendegui-Marco, J., Calvo, D., Caballero, L., Babiano, V., Ladarescu, I., et al. (2021). A first prototype of C6D6 total-energy detector with SiPM readout for neutron capture time-of-flight experiments. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A, 985, 164709–8pp.
Abstract: Low efficiency total-energy detectors (TEDs) are one of the main tools for neutron capture cross section measurements utilizing the time-of-flight (TOF) technique. State-of-the-art TEDs are based on a C6D6 liquid-scintillation cell optically coupled to a fast photomultiplier tube. The large photomultiplier tube represents yet a significant contribution to the so-called neutron sensitivity background, which is one of the most conspicuous sources of uncertainty in this type of experiments. Here we report on the development of a first prototype of a TED based on a silicon-photomultiplier (SiPM) readout, thus resulting in a lightweight and much more compact detector. Apart from the envisaged improvement in neutron sensitivity, the new system uses low voltage (+28 V) and low current supply (-50 mA), which is more practical than the-kV supply required by conventional photomultipliers. One important difficulty hindering the earlier implementation of SiPM readout for this type of detector was the large capacitance for the output signal when all pixels of a SiPM array are summed together. The latter leads to long pulse rise and decay times, which are not suitable for time-of-flight experiments. In this work we demonstrate the feasibility of a Schottky-diode multiplexing readout approach, that allows one to preserve the excellent timing properties of SiPMs, hereby paving the way for their implementation in future neutron TOF experiments.
|